The Wish
by scrambledlizard
Summary: Aang wishes that he could help Korra after a frightening vision. What he doesn't know is that he has accidentally taken her place. Taking place after Episode 6 of Korra and before Episode 7, Aang must find a way to get back to his own time and return Korra to her universe.


_BOOM!_

_A huge arena, split into two by red and blue coloring goes up in smoke. A man with an arrow on his head and a woman wearing a suit made of metal gasp. Other people are wearing strange gloves and electrocuting viewers of the event. Amidst the chaos, a huge vortex of water emerges through the smoke, a dark-skinned girl on top. She heads towards a hole in the golden ceiling, only to find her chi has ran out. Her eyes open in fear, and in a moment, she's falling. Falling. She lets out a cry, before the metal suit woman launches a metal cord towards her. She grabs it, and in a moment, both the metal suit woman and the girl have reached the roof. A fight ensues, the two working together in beautiful teamwork and harmony. Suddenly, the floor shatters where the girl stands after her enemy has been defeated. She falls, and screams. The woman in the metal-suit looks up at a blimp, her eyes portraying she wants to go after it. But, the girl's life is at stake. Back in the arena, the girl is falling. The man with the arrow stares in horror, helpless to do anything due to his distance and the electrocuters trying to subdue him. Her face mirrors the horror, her pupils vibrating in fear. A scream emerges from her open mouth, and is joined by another. Two screams in the air, one of the girl and one-_

-of me. Shaken up by that nightmare, I turn to see my girlfriend staring at me in fear.

"What happened, Aang?" she asks, gently.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream." I sigh. But, on the roof, that girl was firebending to fight. How was that possible? She was bending a water vortex earlier.

"What was it about? Some sort of premonition?" she sighs, yawning. It is still dark out.

"No…there's no way. There was an avatar in it, but it wasn't me." I sigh, shifting position.

"Some Avatar before you trying to contact you?" she responds.

"No. There was a metalbender. She kind of resembled Toph, but I could tell it wasn't her."

"So…just a random dream, then? Well, if we meet any of those in your dream soon, then we could start worrying. Until then…" she yawned, before turning and closing her gentle eyes again. I look upwards at the ceiling, wishing I could help the girl somehow. Her face had conveyed that she wasn't ready for whatever was going on. Perhaps, I could be. I was the one that had defeated Firelord Ozai. Closing my eyes, I wish that I could just switch places and help those within the vision. Of course, such a thing is impossible. In a moment, I have drifted off…

_The arena has been destroyed. I currently reside at Air Temple Island, preparing to go to the Sato Mansion, where Mako and Bolin have announced they live. I was invited to come, and who was I to turn down a trip to visit Mako? Normally, I don't care about my looks. I usually just rush into situations, however, this time I kind of want to be different. Pema has a strange powder in her room. I was tempted to use it, before I realized Ikki was watching. So, I washed my hands in the restroom, and headed out, brushing past Ikki. Perhaps if I came across another powder like Pema's, I'd try it on. Hopefully, Asami had some at her house. Perhaps in the lady's room. Suddenly, a huge adrenaline fills my veins, a cry of pain and agony escaping my throat. My vision is gone._

"_KORRA!" Ikki exclaims, sounding excited. I let out a jumble of syllables in response. _

"_YOU'RE FINALLY ENTERING THE AVATAR STATE! YAAAY!" Ikki says, excitedly. I would like to be excited too, but I could tell something was wrong. This pain can't be natural…it hurts. I pray for it to stop, the world spinning around me. My head hits the floor, and Ikki's voice continues to talk. It sounds distant. The world around me fades away to a terrible pitch-black, and I am gone. _

"Katara! Another vision." I yawn, waking up. The second one leaves me on a cliffhanger…what happened to the girl? Looking around, I could tell I was not at our home anymore. It was a rural setting, and I was laying in a small bed. Across the room, a doorway where a little girl dressed in airbender-attire runs up.

"Who are you?" she asks, curiously.

"I'm the Avatar. Are you another member of the fanclub?" I ask, looking around, taking in my surroundings.

"Fanclub? Um…no. We're on Air Temple Island, and I'm an airbender." She laughs.

"KATARA!" I call out, waiting for a response from my girlfriend. The girl stares into my gray eyes.

"Katara's at the Southern Water Tribe. She's still a bit shellshocked." She announces.

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, the Avatar just…well…according to Ikki, she was vaporized into thin air." The girl responds.

"Well, first off, I'm a HE. Second off, I was not—oh. Well, maybe it appeared I was vaporized, but I was teleported her somehow." I realize.

"No, no. You're dead. OUR Avatar got vaporized." The girl sighs.

"Wait…what?"

"You said you're Aang, right? When Ikki got Tenzin, Meelo, and I we found you on the floor where Korra had fallen. Ikki was screaming that you weren't there before. We thought you were just some acolyte." The girl grins.

"I don't even know any of them! Last thing I remember, I wished that I could help some girl from a vision. Tan-skin, a bit stupid and reckless? She nearly died twice in the arena-place?" I sigh.

"That would be Korra. Your wish came true, Aang! Now you get to take on her burden and save this city yourself!" the girl laughs, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"No, no. This isn't natural. How come you believe that I'm the Avatar if your version of the Avatar was vaporized?" I ask.

"Because, you match the descriptions of the old books. Nobody else believes me." The girl pouts.

"Who are you, again?"

"Oh, I'm Jinora! I'm so excited to be involved in some time-travel thing!" she grins.

"I'm not. I want to go home." I whine.

"Too late! You're like, my hero, Aang! I have a feeling the spirits did this for a reason, and soon enough, you'll be back in your own time. Let's enjoy it while you're here." Jinora deduces.

"Airbend. Show me I'm actually in another time." I sigh. She does as told.

"Now firebend AND airbend. Confirm my suspicions and your claim." Jinora smiles. I airbend her into the air, and then produce a small flame in my left hand. She lands smoothly, like a leaf, and grins her silly grin.

"YES! You stay right here, I'm going to go get Tenzin!" she smiles, and she runs off. However, I have no intention of staying. I have to find out what's going on. Leaving the room, I decide a little exploring of the island can't hurt. That's when I see it. Another island, not to far from here. It has the backside of a famous figure, a hero of some sort. I don't need to see the front side to know who: it's me. But…the statue's portrayal of me is like I'm older. As if I'm in my twenties.

"NYAAAAH!" a sky bison whines. Turning around, I see what was thought to be extinct. Perhaps I'm in an alternate universe, where the genocide of the airbenders never happened? I climb on the Sky Bison.

"Yip Yip!" I say. It listens, as if it knows me. Like Appa. I know exactly where I want to go…the Southern Water Tribe. If anyone had answers, it would be Katara. What had happened?

"Oogi! Yip Yip!" a distant voice calls. I turn and see another sky bison following that of my own. Riding it, is another airbender. I could tell by his tattoos, and his attire. Oogi, the sky bison of the mystery rider, speeds up, responding to the command.

"Go!" I call out. My sky bison obeys.

"Wait up! We need to talk!" the man calls. I do not wait. I speed up once more.

…

_Where did you go, Aang? Why have you left us? Have you been stolen in the night? I swear, we'll find you somehow. It's a promise. I love you, my Avatar. We'll reunite. Or my name isn't Katara._

…

The air is noticeably colder. How long have the two of us been flying? The cold air whips my face, and I hold a hand up to try to stop the numbing chill. The cold winds now circle around me, forming a thin veil of water. The water freezes into a clear, thin shield of ice. From there, I let out a hot breath through firebending and warm the insides of the ice shield, while keeping the ice shield frozen with waterbending. The man's cries are distant now, blocked by the layer of protection. It is a peaceful state, flying in warmth with a beautiful snowy sky visible everywhere that you look. I close my eyes, and let the warmth fill me. Letting out another breath, I feel something within me emerge.

"Avatar Roku." I whisper.

"Hello." Is the response. The sky bison seems to know where it's going.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"You wished her away." He responded, his voice dry.

"Who is she? What are you talking about?" I ask. A third vision emerges.

"_I'm the Avatar, you've got to deal with it!" the child declares, sending out a short wimpy burst of every element. The White Lotus are there. She bends a bit of fire at them. The scene changes, and now the girl is noticeably older. Older than me, even. She is firebending insanely, even though I know she is a native waterbender. After a short fight, she announces victory over a ton of sparring firebenders. An elderly woman is there with the White Lotus. I just have to see her eyes to know who she is: Katara. The scene changes once more, and she and a boy are at a meeting. Like, an assembly. There is a roof over their heads, and a man with a mask emerges. He walks up to the microphone and raises his hands to talk, but his voice never comes out. Finally, the girl is kissing somebody else. The same boy from the meeting. They separate passionately, until an inhuman wail interrupts the moment. The two turn to see another boy, seemingly related to the one that had been recently kissed. The wailer cries, and runs away like Zuko did after Katara and I kissed in front of him. The snot and tears are spot-on. Finally, I'm back to the first vision I had of the girl. The vision that had started it all, the vision with the girl and the blown-up arena. The two boys are there as well. An uneasy feeling rests over me, as the vision fades…_

…and Roku is gone. I look down and notice I'm above the Southern Water Tribe. I begin my descent, the man still following me. It doesn't matter if he catches up, I can tell he means no harm. Just as long as I get to Katara first. I assume she will look like what Roku has shown me.

I leap off of the bison that I had been riding, the veil collapsing into just water. The cold returns, whipping me, numbing me, hurting me. The snow crunches under my feet, another crunch is heard a moment later.

"Aang, why won't you listen?" an exasperated voice says. It is closer than I thought it was, as if right behind me. Turning around, I see the man approaching me. The same man from that first vision. His voice sounds concerned, confused, and tired. Turning my back to him, I prepare to run to Katara. I could use my waterbending on the snow to move quicker. But something tells me to wait. An irresistible force that makes me stay, back-turned to the approacher, absolutely still. His hand gently rests on my shoulder, and I realize this whole time I've been in shock. But, he gives off a gentle and warm vibe. One that makes me feel safe. I turn around, and the two of us face each other for the first time. He studies my face, and I study every wrinkle of his.

"Are you Avatar Aang?" he asks.

"Yes." I respond, my voice dry. He nods, grimly.

"That explains how the sky bison listened so easily...I fear that Korra may have wished for your help so strongly, that your very essence is trapped in her body." He sighs.

"What?" I ask.

"It means…you're dead, Aang. Your spirit, for some reason in a younger state, has taken physical form and is directly controlling Korra. I know you are confused, spirit, but can you try to connect with Korra? See if you can return the body to her?" he asked.

"This isn't her body. It's mine!" I say, strangely.

"No, it's not. Same as how Roku took your body, it changed because you and him were one and the same in different lives. This may not make sense, but remember how he helped you on Winter Solstice at the start of your journey to defeat Ozai? He took you over just as you have taken Korra."

"What's your name?" I respond, stepping closer to him.

"Tenzin." He replies, before kneeling down, as if on cue. Tears leak out of my confused eyes. A strange sensation of wanting to go home fills me stronger than ever, and I see Katara's face. Young Katara, from my time. It is worried, and it begs me to return. The vision fades, and I find my head caught in the man's warm chest, seeking comfort, seeking a chance to get away. As if he is a father to me, and I am his son, I seek comfort from him. Fatherly, he provides it. I had yet to discover how ironic this scene was. He stands up and helps me to my feet. He knows what I want without saying a word, and the two of us head off to where the now elderly Katara lives.


End file.
